


Assorted DW Shipping Oneshots

by Metal_Gear_Steve



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Inspired by Music, Lesbian Sex, Multi, Multiple ships, One Shot Collection, Pining, Sex, Ships That Pass in the Night, Song Lyrics, it's done pretty tastefully, not -that- explicit but it's spelled out pretty well, what might have been
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-02-22 23:28:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23002108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metal_Gear_Steve/pseuds/Metal_Gear_Steve
Summary: This is a place for me to post Doctor Who shipping oneshots. Ships will vary, but most of them will probably be Thasmin. Stories are occasionally paired with songs, but you don't need to listen to them to get the most out of each story.Now includes M-rated content! Enter at your own risk.
Relationships: The Doctor/The Doctor's TARDIS, Thirteenth Doctor/The Master (Dhawan), Thirteenth Doctor/Yasmin Khan
Comments: 3
Kudos: 22





	1. Over and Over (T/Y)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for checking out my assorted oneshots. Just wanted to let you know that each chapter's title will be marked with the pairing that appears in it - I've devised a simple key to streamline the process.
> 
> Each character is determined by a letter. Thirteen is T, Yasmin is Y, so a Thasmin chapter will be marked (T/Y). The key is below.
> 
> T - Thirteenth Doctor  
> Y - Yasmin Khan  
> R - Ryan Sinclair  
> G - Graham O'Brian  
> M - The Master  
> TT - The TARDIS
> 
> Other characters may be added, or more minor characters may be marked with an asterisk. If I wanted to write a story about Ryan and Tibo from Can You Hear Me?, or with Bella from Orphan 55, I might put (R/*).
> 
> I would also like to take this opportunity to say that the use of pre-existing song lyrics to open/close each story isn't meant to infringe copyright, and the lyrics are rightfully and accurately credited to the proper artists and songs in the hopes of introducing more people to them.
> 
> If the music doesn't appeal to you, that's fine too - this isn't a songfic, so the stories can be enjoyed without listening to the music that inspired them. I do write these stories with the credited songs in mind, though, so if you like the gist of one of these oneshots, I recommend giving the attached song a chance too.
> 
> With that out of the way - I hope you enjoy the oneshots!

_And I keep saying_  
_Over and over and over and over again_  
_Let it rain, let it rain_

**Rachael Yamagata - Over and Over**

* * *

Yaz slowly slipped out of a deep sleep, unwrapping her arms from the Doctor's side. She propped herself up on one elbow and looked around - she was back in her family's flat, having come back home for a visit. It had begun raining during the night, and the gentle, consistent tapping of the rain on the windows had shaken her out of a dream.

She peaked her head above the doonas that draped her and her girlfriend, leaving the comfortable pocket of body heat and lightly perfumed air to take in the atmosphere. The air in her room was brisk and carrried the earthy scent of rain, and it drifted across the surface of her room in slow, determined waves from an open window.

Yaz looked outside - the dark, drizzling clouds blotted out the early morning sunlight, dyeing her room a deep tinge of blue. A thin sheet of rain clung to some flyscreen and wobbled in the breeze, shaking a few drops from the fabric as the wind picked up. Sheffield was completely and utterly waterlogged - chilled to the bone. But the person lying next to Yaz ensured that she wouldn't freeze.

She looked down at her girlfriend's face. The blonde woman looked free of anxiety or worry, at least for the time being. It was quickly becoming an unfamiliar sight - The Doctor had been under so much pressure lately, burdening herself with so many secrets and so much stress that it could be difficult to approach her at times. It was good to see her resting comfortably for once, even if it was only temporary.

 _This trip to Sheffield has really done us good_ , Yaz thought to herself. _Even if it's just for one peaceful night of sleep._

The Doctor stirred under the doonas, reaching her arms out towards Yaz with a gentle moan. Taking in one last breath of the chilled air, Yaz retreated into the layer of blankets that draped her bed, blushing as a pocket of warmth rose up to meet her.

She settled back into the Doctor's arms, taking in a deep breath of her scent. Spice, a little bit of fruit - and the faintest hint of brandy. But more than anything, she smelt like home.

It wasn't long before the soothing, consistent heat of her bed overtook her, and Yaz drifted back to sleep in the arms of the woman she loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story cribs a lot from a similar story on my profile for the webcomic El Goonish Shive. Why cover the same ground as an older work for a newer fandom?
> 
> One reason is because EGS isn't a super popular fandom, but the other reason is because the song Over and Over has always resonated with that idyllic rainy day mood, where rain's clinging to the flyscreen and where the icy cold wind is rolling off your blanket while you toast like a marshmallow inside. It makes me want to curl up and just enjoy a rainy-ass day. I enjoy writing about it.


	2. Orpheus (T/Y)

_Don't stop trying to find me here amidst the chaos_   
_Though I know it's blinding, there's a way out_   
_Say out loud_   
_We will not give up on love now_

**Sara Bareilles - Orpheus**

* * *

"Yaz! _**YAZ!!!**_ "

The Doctor was bowled over by a plume of dust and debris as rubble crashed down from the ruins of an ancient building. Ryan managed to get himself behind an overturned column, and Graham looked on in shock at the scene that had just unfolded.

The dust eventually began to settle, revealing the Doctor's doubled over form gasping for air. But behind her was a much more somber scene.

A stack of rubble 20 feet high - stacked up in the area where Yaz had been excavating with the Doctor. And while the Doctor was visible, coughing her lungs out, there was no sign of Yaz.

Graham put his head in his hands as Ryan began to panic. He looked back towards the TARDIS, then towards some excavation tools.

The Doctor caught her breath and stood up as Ryan grabbed a Frequency Oscillator. He began running towards the rubble before the Doctor's voice yelled out in an unusually high pitch.

"Ryan, stop!"

He looked back at the Doctor, only to see her sprinting towards the rubble with an open-eyed look of terror on her face. Overtaking him, she reached the pile of rubble and began pulling rocks off of the pile.

"The oscillator would send a heavy soundwave through the rocks," she called out as she threw rocks down behind her, "and that could very well kill Yaz!"

"So what you're saying, Doc," Graham said as he wandered over to stand next to Ryan, "is without any physical tools, we'll have to dig Yaz out by hand?"

Another few rocks tumbled from the Doctor's position, punctuated by grunts.

"Even then... _grnh!!_ Even then, Graham, we'd be risking another avalanche. It's got to be by hand!"

Graham looked down at his hands. They knew the value of hard work, but at his age? There wasn't much he could do with them.

Ryan, on the other hand, sprang into action immediately.

"Hold on, Yaz!" he yelled as he ran towards the rubble. "We're comin' for ya!"

\---

Yaz looked around her in confusion. One second she'd been clearing out some ancient alien city with Ryan, Graham and the Doctor, and the next thing... well, whatever had landed her in this situation. It didn't take a lot to guess what had happened, but her head seemed clouded in fog - most likely due to a concussion.

There wasn't much of a view. Her glowing excavation bracelet revealed a layer of rocks in all shapes and sizes pressing down on her body, though somehow stopping short of falling on her face. Breathing in - and subsequently choking on the dust that filled her small pocket of air - Yaz could feel something pressing down on her torso. It felt like a series of squares, like a grid of some sort.

_Of all the things in the universe, I got saved by a grate._

The grate held back some debris that would have crushed her head otherwise, and it had stopped the falling rubble from pummeling her body. It only reached about halfway down her thighs, leaving most of her legs exposed to the full brunt of the avalanche. Her left shin hurt a lot, but her right shin was screaming out in pain - if she had to take a guess, she would have to say that it was broken.

Her left arm, sporting her glowing excavation bracelet, was pinned next to her by some rocks, while her right arm was elevated above her - trapped in the rubble. She could still feel it, but only barely.

She sat in the dark, breathing what little air she had left, and waited. If anyone could save her now, it would be the Doctor.

\---

Another large stone flew from the pile as the Doctor and Ryan hefted it behind them. They scrambled frantically over the pile, as Graham sat down and watched.

"You sure there's nothing I can do, Doc? I've gotta admit, I feel like a lame duck sitting down here, not bein' able to help!"

"Would love the help, Graham," the Doctor cried out as she dug, "but we've already got someone's health at risk. Best thing you can do for me is stay put and stay clear!"

 _I know I'm gettin' on in years,_ Graham thought, _but it's hard having to watch this without bein' able to help. Is there really nothing I can do here?_

He stood up.

"Tell ya what, Doc - I'm gonna go back to the TARDIS for a sec, see what I can find to help with the rescue effort!"

"Top idea, Graham!" she replied. "See if you can find any blankets!"

With Graham occupied, the Doctor got back to digging. She plunged her hands between whatever crevices she could, leaving them scratched and bloody as she pulled rocks away from each other and threw them behind her. Ryan worked nearby, making sure the pile of rubble remained stable as the pair threw debris down the pile.

Suddenly, the Doctor gasped in horror. Ryan stopped what he was doing and looked over to where she was kneeling.

Sticking out of the rubble was a hand, cuffed by a brown leather jacket. The ring finger was snapped into an unnatural position, and the knuckles on each of the fingers were inflamed and bleeding.

This hand, without a doubt, belonged to Yasmin Khan. But if it was this damaged... what condition would Yaz herself be in?

\---

Yaz's head spun as her meagre supply of oxygen began to run low. She could hear tumbling and scratching, but the sounds were seriously muffled - she couldn't tell if they were real, or if she was imagining them.

_I dunno how much longer I can hold on, Doctor..._

The thought slipped away from her as her eyelids began to sink. There wasn't a whole lot she could do to stay awake - even the sharp pain of her presumably broken shin wasn't doing a whole lot to keep her awake and alert.

She took in a deep breath, and let it go as her eyes closed...

Only for the blinding light of the open world to flood in, giving her a massive, splitting headache at the change of lighting.

" _I got her!!_ " The Doctor yelled out, sounding as if she was underwater. " _I got Yaz!!_ "

Somewhere in the background, she could hear Ryan yelling out. There was a scraping sound, and Ryan's voice got fainter.

She opened her eyes.

"... Doctor? Is it you?"

The Doctor grabbed the wrist of her exposed hand in two hands, doubling over in relief.

" _Yaz... We've got you now, Yaz..._ "

Yaz's mind was still cloudy, and she had trouble focusing her eyes. But she managed to look up at the Doctor's face. Tears were streaming from her eyes like Yaz had never seen before, falling through the metal grate and landing on her shredded leather jacket.

" _Never again..._ This will never happen again...!"

Yaz mustered up a weak grin.

"Hey, stop the tears. You're gonna get me out of here, aren't you?"

The Doctor looked at Yaz's dusty face, her eyes glassy with tears.

"Thank god you're okay...!"

"Concussed, and I think me leg's broken," Yaz breathed out, "but yeah, Doctor. I'm okay."

* * *

_No fear_   
_Don't you turn like Orpheus_   
_Just stay here_   
_Hold me in the dark and when the day appears_   
_We'll say_   
_We did not give up on love today_

**Sara Bareilles - Orpheus**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The album that Orpheus comes from is a really low-key sort of affair. A lot of Sara Bareilles' songs feel a lot more energetic, like King of Anything, or dramatic, like She Used To Be Mine. Orpheus feels really low-key and intimate, with a lot of bass, brushed snare and some really warm, lovely strings. She has a bunch of different sounds across her albums, and I can dig them all - but Amidst the Chaos is probably my favorite sound from her yet.
> 
> I couldn't help but imagine the Doctor digging through debris to save Yaz to the tune of the chorus. It's like Yaz is comforting her, asking her to stay there with her as The Doctor is throwing out bricks and boulders trying to get to her. I hope you liked the story!


	3. By The Way, I Forgive You (T/M)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick warning for Doctor/Master shippers - this probably won't be as shippy as you're expecting. It's a far cry from my Thasmin stuff, and a lot of the story is tied to the song that inspired it. You can read my take on this ship in the note at the end of this chapter.
> 
> Thanks for your time, and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

_A love song was playing on the radio  
It made me kind of sad because it made me think of you  
And I wonder how you're doing but I wish I didn't care  
Because I gave you all I had and got the worst of you_

**Brandi Carlile - Every Time I Hear That Song**

* * *

_Well_ _... here we are, I guess._

The Doctor sat on the metal square in the centre of her cell, tapping the metal floor with her boot. She had taken one second - one single second - to let her guard down and catch her breath, and in an instant she had been snatched up by the Judoon and sent to some space prison in the middle of nowhere.

There were people waiting for her back on Earth. The last of the Cybermen's campaign against the human race, for one, who would almost certainly need to be rehabilitated to live without fear of the Cybermen - but on top of that, there were three people who had become particularly special to the Doctor. Yaz, Ryan and Graham - her fam.

 _At least they're safe_ , the Doctor thought. _TARDIS technology is usually pretty reliable... 'cept for the one, I suppose._

For the first time since her imprisonment, the Doctor cracked a smile - sad and fleeting, but a smile nonetheless. She thought about how the TARDIS was faring without her, with her having been snatched up so quickly. With any luck, it would be chasing her down right this second, getting ready to burst through the wall and deliver her back to Earth. But even on the most confident day of her life, the Doctor would have admitted that it was a pipe dream at best.

Maybe without... _his_ influence, the Doctor wouldn't be in this mess.

_The Master._

The Doctor fell backwards, landing on the raised platform. She let her arms fall above her head, with her palms dangling over the other side of the platform.

 _It can't be overstated just how much I hate that man,_ she thought to herself, _but I always seem to give him another chance to disappoint me._

She thought back to Harold Saxon - the man who had decimated the human race to break her hearts, who had roboticised Bill Potts. Then there was Missy, who the Doctor had actively tried to reform - but she had given way to this new Master, the one who had murdered and desecrated their entire race of people.

_Even when it was only me and him left, out of all the Time Lords... he died in my arms to spite me. And even then, I saw something good in them the next time 'round._

The Doctor's gaze wandered over to the fluorescent bars of her cell's window. They numbed the glow of the stars outside.

_Wonder if he got away._

She smirked mirthlessly.

_Who am I kidding - the Master always gets away._

Her mind wandered back to her childhood... or at least, what she remembered as her childhood. The thoughts were spotty and unclear, but she could still make out her time at the Academy.

_All that time, he was hearing the time vortex echoing through his mind. He was suffering, and no-one ever picked up on it. He expected it to be me... but I never knew. Is that why he hates me so much? Is it why he doesn't change for the better?_

The Doctor had been able to reform Missy to a degree. A part of her obsession with Missy had been to give her a chance, to give her the patience and understanding that she seemed to need.

But even then, she had gone right along with her prior self's plan to roboticise Bill Potts - even after travelling with her a handful of times, she had no empathy for the Doctor's friend. Missy and Harold Saxon tore down a peaceful human settlement, and they destroyed Bill's life while they were at it.

So why did she keep giving the Master a chance?

_I guess... it's because I put too much stock in the Master. I care too much, and I think I can help, but I never can._

The Doctor sat up to rub her face. She tried so hard to leave everything better than she left it, including the Master - but without fail, their atrocities only seemed to get worse and worse.

_They kill, torture and manipulate everything around them. I've seen so much bloodshed at their hands. But I've felt so close to stopping them every single time, like I could reach the part of them that's in pain... but I never can._

_I just want to help. And with the amount of pain we've both been through, from the Time War and beyond, there's got to have been some common ground at some point. But they just keep killing._

She looked at the fluorescent light that lined the ceiling of her cell. It buzzed, as cold and bright as ever.

_Maybe I've just given into the manipulation too many times. But that doesn't change the fact of the matter - for better or worse, I've cared. I've only wanted the best for the Master, and whether that's brought about any good or not, it says more about me than it says about him._

The Doctor got up and walked over to the corner of the cell that was furthest from the window. She took her coat off, fashioned it into a pillow, then got down onto the ground and laid her head on it.

The floor was cold, but the Doctor appreciated the brief moment of comfort she had created for herself.

"... I'll stop you again, Master. For desecrating the Time Lords, for everything you did to Bill, and for the sheer lengths you've gone through to hurt me. I won't let you do this to me any more."

And with whatever catharsis she could get out of those words, the Doctor turned towards the wall of her cell and tried to get some sleep.

* * *

_When I woke up in the morning, I was choking on some words_   
_There were things unsaid between us, there were things you never told_   
_Now that's twice you broke my heart now, the first was way back when_   
_And to know you're still unhappy only makes it break again_

_By the way, I forgive you_   
_After all, maybe I should thank you_   
_For giving me what I've found_   
_'Cause without you around_   
_I've been doing just fine_

_Except for any time I hear that song_

**Brandi Carlile - Every Time I Hear That Song**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured it was about time I broke up the pairings a little bit. I'm taking a much different tone with the Master than I am with Yaz, because I don't think I can justify a "current" Doctor/Master ship - I'm much more interested in approaching it in retrospect, trying to reconcile the Doctor's desire to help him with the evil things he's done. The connection between them isn't denied, but the focus is more on the Doctor's complicated feelings on the Master more than it is about a current, up to date relationship.
> 
> My take on the pairing is that it's been a very toxic relationship over the course of New Who, and in this incarnation of the duo, the Doctor is done. But that doesn't erase the complex feelings that the Doctor has had for the Master. I've spent the last two hours rambling and trying to explain/justify myself here, so I'm going to leave it at that and let my work speak for itself. I will say that the song is pretty integral to this oneshot compared to the first two, so it might be worthwhile to check it out. Otherwise, I really hope the lyrics I posted help to spell out the tone I was going for.
> 
> I'm planning to write another Doctor/Master oneshot in the future in a similar style. I've even got another Brandi Carlile song picked out for it, lol. I think that story is going to be a lot more cohesive and arguably even shippier than this one, but I still think this is an interesting baseline to start at for my first Doctor/Master story.
> 
> Thanks for reading.


	4. By The Light Of The Moon (T/TT)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you look at that - a oneshot that isn't based on a song! I wasn't expecting it either, I was gearing up to write a whole other sort of chapter.
> 
> I also wasn't expecting this to become a TARDIS-centric story. You can chalk this one up to serendipity.
> 
> Quick warning, this chapter has a bit of Thasmin in it too. If that's not your sort of thing, brace yourself - it's like one paragraph, and 2-3 lines after that.

The TARDIS floated in the shadow of a large moon, chirping periodically in its crisp, buoyant way as its residents slept within. The Doctor had placed it on a rough approximation of a solar cycle for the sake of her human guests - and while the mad, tinkering Time Lord would often stay up for several of these cycles at a time, requiring a basic upkeep of power flowing to the console room, she had decided to go to bed for the night, leaving the TARDIS to coast by on minimal power in a place where it wouldn't be detected.

It looked like she had taken yet another female caller. In recent memory, the TARDIS could count three relationships that the Doctor had actively engaged in - not including the crushes and pinings that stayed unfulfilled. From Rose Tyler to Clara Oswald, the big, blue time machine kept tabs on the people who pined for the Doctor and on those who the Doctor cared for in return.

But it had been a while since the Doctor had taken a partner. Sure, there was River Song - but the wild time fluctuations that came from her encounters with the Doctor gave the TARDIS what it could only approximate as a headache. While there was no doubt that both parties cared for one another, the TARDIS could barely keep track of who River Song was during each of her visits, or what period of her life she was emerging from. The Doctor hadn't had anything so... consistent in some time.

It peered into the Doctor's room, taking in the visage of the woman in the arms of her lover. Both women were asleep, with Yasmin Khan laying her head on the Doctor's chest, warm and secure in the older woman's embrace. Both women slept peacefully - there were no elevations in heart rate, nor were there signs of mental distress due to bad dreams, lingering worries or the like. The TARDIS focused its attention elsewhere, granting the two some privacy.

If given a human form again, the TARDIS wondered if she would be able to have a relationship with the Doctor. She'd wait, of course, if the Doctor had already committed herself to a relationship - but if her higher functions, her "self", could be separated from the machine that her companion called home... would she be able to join the likes of Rose Tyler, River Song, Clara Oswald and Yasmin Khan?

The TARDIS gave a thoughtful warble as it slid out from behind the shadow of the moon it had been hiding behind. The solar cycle had come back around to "daylight", so it was time to get back to work. Though seconds before gliding out into the golden rays of solar radiation that fed her core, the TARDIS had a moment of pause - wondering if it would be preferable, just this once, to give its occupants just a few more hours of sleep.

But she had made an agreement with the Doctor - 8 hours powered down, 16 hours powered up. And while leeway was easy to grant, she would respect the wishes of her oldest and most trusted occupant. Out of respect and love, she would act in the best interests of the Doctor, her guests and the partners she took, and she would respect the agreements that both herself and the Doctor brokered.

The lights softly faded in, and the Doctor wrinkled her nose. She tossed her head to the side, unwilling to move too fast in fear of waking Yaz up, and she sighed in an exasperated tone.

"C'mon, girl - half an hour more? Please?"

The TARDIS rang out a bemused warp as she retreated back towards the moon.

Honestly? It wasn't always so easy fulfilling this role in their relationship. But the TARDIS took her duty of care seriously. If the Doctor took care of her, then the TARDIS would do likewise when required. After all, that's the basis of any good relationship - give and take.

Again - if the TARDIS woke up tomorrow in a brand new body, separated from the functions that made her a machine and spacecraft, there would be a lot of unspoken affection to go over with the Doctor. She would wait if required - but there were several thousand years worth of emotions buried within the TARDIS's many processes, and the longer it would take to make this dream a reality, the less amount of time she would be able - or willing - to wait.

But the TARDIS saw the possibility as just that - a dream. Not an impossible one, as she had once imbued a humanoid form in a time of crisis - but an unlikely outcome nonetheless. It was a good thing that she loved her job, and more than anything, she was glad that she had the emotional fortitude to carry on and accept the Doctor's ongoing relationships. Better to be at peace than to be jealous, after all.

The TARDIS floated in the shadow of a large moon, chirping periodically in its crisp, buoyant way as its residents slept within. But in half an hour, the lights would go back on and everyone within its walls would have no choice but to wake up. She was a cosmic spacecraft with the ability to move within time and across dimensions - outside of the rare handful of times that she gave her residents the kindness of obeying their petty comforts, she would not be treated like an alarm clock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going over my last three chapters, and I noticed that I have a habit of starting each story with the name of the focal character. When that isn't the case, I'm starting each story with a snippet of dialogue, then opening with the name of the focal character. So I started writing this preamble that was gonna lead into a Thasmin story, but I couldn't find a point to jump out and start writing the "meat" of the story. By then, I was a good 3-4 paragraphs in - so I decided to keep going.
> 
> The pronouns for the TARDIS switch back and forth a little bit during this story. The intention was to distinguish a change between the TARDIS's perception of itself - the outer shell, the machinery and the infrastructure that makes the TARDIS the TARDIS? The functionality of its body? That's the TARDIS as a craft, and it can distinguish its inner consciousness from its outer functions.
> 
> It's when the TARDIS takes her desires, her wants and needs into account - when the story dives into the TARDIS as a character with those things - that the story shifts into addressing her with feminine pronouns. It's a case of "what I am" vs "who I am", and how they can coexist within the same being.
> 
> In human terms, the best I can describe my reasoning is with some song lyrics - "And the thing about my body is / despite how much time I spend hating it / it never said a bad word about me". The mind and the body are separate, and I think it's possible to regard the physical self as a different extension of the true self. "It" as an extension of "she".
> 
> Basically, I'm really goddamn tired and I need to go to sleep.
> 
> It was pretty refreshing, writing a story with next to no dialogue. The TARDIS doesn't really talk, so it's all thought processes - there are moments of inner dialogue, but it's written in a more detached, roundabout way. I really enjoyed this little experiment, and I hope you liked it too.
> 
> Onto an unrelated topic - I had a look over chapter two, Orpheus, and it's a little bit... yikes. I rushed the hell out of it, since this AO3 story's original concept was going to be if I could write one oneshot a day for an entire week.
> 
> That oneshot is coasting on the right feelings,  
> and the song is still gorgeous, but my mind and body weren't up to par at the time - I was exhausted as I was writing it, and I posted it in that exhausted state because I was excited to get more content out and to bump this story back up to the top of the pile. I should have given it a day to cool off, given myself a chance to see it through a fresh pair of eyes.
> 
> I'm tired now, but this story flowed a lot easier than Orpheus did. I'm a lot more confident in this story than I was about Orpheus.
> 
> I really like it conceptually, but I definitely think that the execution was a bit off. If you're still reading this collection of oneshots after Orpheus, I really appreciate your patronage and I hope that you've enjoyed the stories that I've posted ever since. I'm trying to keep the writing as solid as possible.


	5. When I'm Lying Here In Your Arms (T/Y) [M]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that this chapter is rated M, and contains sexual content. Please proceed at your own risk.

Out of all the rooms in the TARDIS, the Doctor only consistently cleaned two of them. Sure, there was the occasional room full of space-junk that she hadn't gotten around to sorting, or the occasional puddle or leakage that flew under her nose, but a majority of the rooms on the TARDIS were good to go without a lot of attention. The library, for example - whether it'd been days, weeks, years or... dare she say, decades? The library always seemed to be in good nick, with or without the Doctor's maintenance.

But the TARDIS did have a handful of well lived-in areas that needed a bit more care. The first one being the console room, where the Doctor regularly convened with her friends and piloted the big, blue machine she called home. When she wasn't at the TARDIS controls or speaking with her friends, she was keeping an eye on the state of the room - and if anything felt particularly out of place, she would give the whole area a clean to keep it looking spick and span. It was a habit that stretched back over a fair few regenerations, and with the unexpected visitors she occasionally picked up, she was glad that she had kept the habit.

The second room that the Doctor actively cleaned was her bedroom. While she rarely travelled alone, and her passengers tended to stay on board for a decent amount of time, it was indisputable that the Doctor's room was the most well lived-in room out of the TARDIS's many sleeping quarters. As such, it required constant maintenance on the Doctor's part. That's not to say that it wasn't a mess most of the time - it was - but with the many different projects she liked to take on in her spare time, it was essential for the Doctor to keep some semblance of tidiness in her immediate surroundings.

Her bedroom had been in immaculate condition earlier that day. Looking at her handiwork, the Doctor had mused that it might have been the cleanest that she's seen it in years. But in the span of 4 hours, it had... devolved, somewhat. Metal plates that had been stacked against a pillar had clattered to the floor, and a large, hourglass-shaped torch had been knocked over. Clothes littered the floor, starting at the doorway and forming a crude, zig-zagging path to the Doctor's bed.

It started with a long, grey jacket, which had been discarded fairly quickly - it sat slightly heaped on the floor. Next up was a pair of rainbow suspenders, leading towards the scattered metal and the pillar it had been resting on. A brown leather jacket sat at the base of this pillar, suggesting that the owner of the garment had slipped it off while backed up against it.

The path continued, with one blue sneaker balanced haphazardly on its side, closely followed by another one with an undone shoelace. The direction of the toes suggested that they had been taken off while their wearer was walking backwards - or, more likely, stumbling. These were followed by a tight, black shirt with a bizarre band logo on the front, which led to the large, scrap-metal torch that had crashed to the ground. A dark-blue t-shirt with a rainbow striped across its chest hung from its upended base. The torch hadn't been lit, luckily, and with the damage it had sustained in the fall it would probably need some fixing up before it could be lit again.

The clothes made a beeline for the bed at that point. One bra - two bras - formed a loose path to the bed, where two sets of pants and a pair of chunky-heeled leather boots rested in a pile against the side.

The bed's two occupants, too enamored with each other's company to care about the wanton property damage, had fallen into bed together and immediately started fumbling with each other's bodies. Their hands were clumsy, unaccustomed to the cadence of each other's body rhythm, but they slowly managed to find a pace that suited them both. The rough touching and grabbing that had consumed them in the heat of the moment soon gave way to more tender expressions of affection - both women being newcomers to each other's intimate company, but willing to put in the time to learn.

The Doctor was... inexperienced. She wouldn't say she was wholly ignorant of the process she had found herself in, and she had even engaged in it during the past. But she had only been a woman herself for a few years, which flipped a fair bit of her prior experience on its head. It had presented a few significant changes to how she approached physical intimacy - and she willingly put herself in Yasmin's hands to help her understand this new process that they were engaging in.

Of course, Yaz wasn't that experienced herself. She was a 22 year old police officer, coming out of high school with a lot of personal baggage and not a whole lot of personal connections. She had more experience being a woman than the Doctor, and she had explored this side of herself in the past. But it was her first time with a woman too - and given that the Doctor seemed to be a bit older than her, Yaz couldn't help but hope that she knew what she was doing.

But whether someone "knows the moves" or not, it's ultimately up to the individual to listen to their partner and see what works for them and what doesn't. And through trial and error, both women slowly came to understand each other's desires.

They had spent a long time in bed, and the heat from each other's bodies radiated against the blankets and sheets - it felt like a sauna. Having helped herself to the Doctor's body for the last half hour, Yaz laid her head in the crook of the woman's arm, intoxicated by the heat of their surroundings.

"Mmm... I think we both learned a few things tonight."

The Doctor exhaled through her nostrils. She hadn't expected things to feel as intense as they had - and Yaz's insistence on taking control at the end, on helping her find places she had never really indulged in before... it really was beyond the scope of anything she had experienced in the bedroom.

"Yaz... I can't say it enough, but that was incredible...!"

The younger woman cooed at her partner's praise, nestling her head against the older woman's shoulder. The Doctor's skin still felt like it was charged with static electricity, and the brush of Yaz's hair against it sent a jolt down her spine.

"You know," Yaz said as her eyes slid closed, "that was my first time. And it was a bit clumsy, like all the goss-mags used to say, but I can tell you now that it was well worth it."

The Doctor swallowed a lump in her throat. She had been pressed against Yaz in a variety of incredibly sensitive ways over the last few hours, but the way she was nestled up to her made her hearts quiver in her chest. Endorphins, even more plentiful than the ones that flooded her mind during sex, engulfed her - turning her face a shade of red that felt like it might never change back.

"...Y'know, in a manner of speaking," The Doctor nervously yammered out, "I think that was my first time, too."

Yaz hummed. "I was thinkin' about that - y'know, when we were doin' what we were doin'." She heard her girlfriend's heartbeats increase, and she grinned as the Doctor let out another deep breath. "You were a bloke before, weren't you?"

The Doctor shifted uncomfortably. "Probably not the best time to think about that, but yeah. And I wasn't... completely celibate then, just for the record."

"Doesn't matter to me," Yaz said through a grin. "You're with me now, and I think we broke some new ground tonight." She shifted in the Doctor's embrace, before adding "...and it was still hot as hell and incredibly special, either way you want to look at it."

Pulling a blanket up to cover her nakedness, she made a point to lean up to the Doctor's ear.

"As long as I'm here with you, I don't care 'bout the rest."

The Doctor's arm tightened around Yaz's shoulders, pulling her into a side-hug.

"You're the first woman I've been with as a woman, Yasmin Khan. I think my virginity was up for grabs tonight, and you might have gone and snatched it."

Yaz laughed, sending a gust of warm air across the Doctor's skin as she exhaled through her nose. Lightly rolling over her neck, the Doctor's skin picked up the contact like a million lightning rods being struck by a million lightning bolts.

She shifted, disturbing Yaz's resting place, but she settled back down after turning towards her girlfriend.

"Maybe not all the time, but... well, some of the time, when none of us are busy..."

Yaz put an arm across the Doctor's waist and placed her hand in the small of her back, grinning slyly as the Doctor did her best to word-vomit what she wanted to say.

"...you want to do this again some time?"

"Oh jeez, was it that obvious?" The Doctor wrinkled her face into an awkward grimace as Yaz let out a soft giggle.

"I had fun, Doctor. I enjoyed it just as much as you did." Saying this, she slipped her other arm beneath the Doctor's lower waist and pulled her closer. "So yes, I would love to do this again. Because it felt great, and because I love you."

The Doctor practically melted into Yaz's arms upon hearing this. The heat of their bed, mixed with the calming of their synapses and the alleviation of endorphins that had relaxed them in their afterglow, had allowed a content sense of fatigue to creep over them.

As the Doctor laid her head in a comfortable position, she spoke in a husky whisper.

"I love you, Yasmin Khan."

"I love you too, Doctor."

The pair settled into each other's embrace, slowly drifting off to sleep - until the Doctor's voice broke through the silence again.

"And it's not just because of the sex, y'know. I think you're pretty amazin' yourself."

Yaz snorted at the comment, and the room echoed with peals of her laughter.

Maybe it wasn't time for bed yet, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a few things.
> 
> You might have guessed from the account name, but I'm not a lesbian. This story isn't meant to come from a pervy, objectifying place - however, I understand how a story with this tone and content could feel uncomfortable to read knowing that it's coming from a non-lesbian perspective, and if that's how you feel having read this story, then I respect those feelings. Saying that, this story came from a really genuine place - like my other stories. And I like to think that it shows.
> 
> I'm more emotionally focused when it comes to ships. My approach to the mature content in this story is that sex is often a part of a relationship - except for y'all aces out there, you're all valid - and as a story element, it can lead to more bonding opportunities, showcase how connected two people can be based on what they get out and what they put into the act, and lead into an afterglow which is where some of the fluffiest stuff can get said.
> 
> I thought approaching some more mature material would be interesting, but I didn't want to go full weirdo and write a bunch of smut - that's not what this ship is to me. So while the characters have very clearly had sex, I haven't elaborated on a great deal of it, preferring to partially avert the camera and focus more on the build up and aftermath.
> 
> As the title suggests, this story comes from the Bryan Adams song "Heaven". Specifically, I had Brandi Carlile's cover of it in mind when I was writing it. If you're going to look that up, there's a live version on YouTube that cuts off the first few seconds of the song, which is imo the best recording since the full one is kinda tinny.
> 
> Next chapter will probably be another Master-in-hindsight story. It's gonna be a real tearjerker hopefully, so I hope you'll stick around and see how it turns out.


End file.
